President Barack Obama is an American, to the surprise of a surprising many. The biggest surprise, though, is that this is a debate at all.

Earlier this morning, Obama released his official birth certificate, clearly stating that he was born at 7:24 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1961 in Honolulu.

This development thoroughly discredits New York billionaire and possible GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, who had routinely questioned Obama’s U.S. citizenship for weeks. Trump is among the top GOP candidates, with a growing percentage of Republicans giving him early backing to take back the presidency in 2012. In a comical twist, Trump must now completely re-tool his platform and become a candidate that doesn't base a presidential run on conspiracy theory alone.

Hopefully that new candidate will be one who will discuss issues like the economy or America’s faltering dominance in the world vis-a-vis China. But Trump must also wonder if the American people care about those issues. Attacking Obama's citizenship was his bread and butter and had garnered him a following. Only a whopping 38 percent of Americans think Obama is, in fact, American. Thus, if we use statistical logic and place a finger on the pulse of national opinion, “birther” candidates should lead the way in 2012, backed by the sway of two-thirds of American voters. Trump's now-discredited stance on Obama is evidently what Americans care about.

In that vein, we can only hope that the national dialogue continues to question Obama’s roots, because clearly it is such a major policy issue. Now that the birth certificate issue is appeased, hopefully a candidate will turn to questioning whether Hawaii was even a state in 1961, or maybe somehow tie in the fact that Obama’s father was an alien. Our constitution is explicit in saying that only an earthling can be president, right? Obama’s grades throughout school should also be an issue, as Trump has raised, because no idiot has never and will never be president.

What a massive joke.

The only ammo conservatives seem to be using in the 2012 presidential race is the silver bullet that their top candidate keeps shooting against Obama’s “unconstitutional” presidency. Not healthcare, the war in Afghanistan, America's global decline, and clearly not the creation of jobs. With today's news, it is unfortunate that the biggest argument for many conservatives – and Americans in general – is void, right?

What is even more unfortunate is that this is big news, as the front page of all major news sites are brimming with Obama birth certificate coverage today (The New York Times sent out a “breaking news” e-mail alert at 9:25 EST this morning). The only thing breaking is the logic of this country. There is much more important news, with a nuclear disaster in Japan, a mass revolutionary movement in the Middle East, and gas prices on an astronomical climb.

Politics in America have officially reached a new silliness. With all the real problems we are facing, imaginary conspiracy theories make us less credible to the world, and show that we aren't focused on major issues. If a birther candidate makes it to the White House in 2012, let’s hope that he or she is competent enough to then take on real policy issues.